From CareerJournal’s article Managers Rate Themselves High, But Employees Are Tough Critics:
While 92% of managers say they are doing an “excellent” or “good” job managing employees, only 67% of workers agree. An additional 23% say their boss is doing a “fair” job, and 10% find their manager is doing a “poor” job, according to a survey of 1,854 U.S. workers by Rasmussen Reports LLC
Ouch, that’s going to leave a mark. I did so well at statistics in college that I got to take it twice. However, I believe a 25% spread is what statisticians term “statistically significant.”
A solution later in the article:
Let workers play a part in manager evaluations.
Interesting idea and certainly one that would be beneficial to improving communication between managers and direct reports. However…
But just 26% of workers surveyed said their company lets them evaluate higher-ups. Still, maybe workers do understand just how tough their bosses have it: Of the 41% who said they would likely be offered their manager’s job if he or she left the company, just 54% want that job.
I was fortunate enough to have a chance to be a Sales Manager at a young age (27) and I still remember to this day what my father told me – “You’ve never seen problems until you have had to manage people.” I chuckled about the statement and remained quite confident I knew what I was doing.
I lasted 2 years in the role before being fired. Let me now invoke the battle cry of the terminated – “I learned a lot.”
An important statistic at the end of the article:
Meanwhile, 26% of managers said they don’t get enough training to handle their responsibilities, the survey found.
“Managers are saying, ‘I need help to do my job and to manage people more effectively,'” Mr. Morgan said. “I see this happen all the time. You promote someone who’s one of your best employees, maybe your best salesperson.
“Well, what does the organization do to support that person in that transition? It’s a whole different set of responsibilities.”